IEEE 802.11s
802.11 is a set of
IEEE standards that govern
wireless networking transmission methods. They are commonly used today in their
802.11a,
802.11b, and
802.11g versions to provide wireless connectivity in the home, office and some commercial establishments.
802.11s is the unapproved IEEE 802.11 standard for ESS Mesh Networking. It specifies an extension to the IEEE 802.11
MAC to solve the interoperability problem by defining an architecture and protocol that support both
broadcast/
multicast and unicast delivery using "radio-aware metrics over self-configuring multi-hop topologies."
Task Group TGs
The Standard is being defined by the
IEEE Task Group TGs, chaired by
Donald Eastlake. The purpose of the project is to provide a protocol for auto-configuring paths between
access points over -configuring multi-hop topologies in a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) to support both broadcast/multicast and unicast traffic in an ESS Mesh using the four-address frame format or an extension.
The call for proposals (CFP) for 802.11s ended in
June 2005 with 15 proposals received. In the
July 2005 meeting, the number of proposals were pared down to six. As of
September 2005 there were four proposals remaining on the table with TGs. [
1]
Wi-Mesh Proposal
The
Wi-Mesh Alliance (WiMA), which includes
Accton,
ComNets,
InterDigital,
NextHop,
Nortel,
Philips,
Extreme Networks,
MITRE,
Naval Research Laboratory,
Swisscom Innovations and
Thomson, has presented a proposal that will enable seamless communications for wireless users regardless of equipment vendor.[
2] According to
Bilel Jamoussi of
Nortel, the Wi-Mesh proposal is designed to work for all three major applications of mesh technology - consumer and small business, metropolitan, and military.[
3]
SEEMesh Proposal
Another consortium,
SEEMesh, is backed by
Intel,
Nokia,
Motorola,
NTT DoCoMo and
Texas Instruments. [
4][
5] As part of their 802.11s proposal, Intel has introduced what they call
Mesh Portals. Mesh portals offer interoperability to mesh networks by allowing older, and newer, wireless standard technology to be recognized and incorporated into the network.[
6][
7]
Status
The two joint proposals submitted from these two consortiums for consideration for an 802.11s standard received the highest votes at the
July 2005,
September 2005 and
November 2005 meetings.
Not all companies in the space have signed on to the 802.11s standards process. Some of the largest vendors, including
BelAir Networks,
Tropos Networks, and
Strix Systems, are not part of any of the groups making proposals.
In the January 2006 meeting, proposal selection was suspended and the two proposals, SEE Mesh and Wi-Mesh were merged. The merged proposal was presented and confirmed unanimously at the March 2006 meeting. This merged proposal will be used as the starting point for the 802.11s standard. The standard is targeted to be approved by 2008.
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Wireless mesh network*
IEEE P802 Status of Project IEEE 802.11s Status of the standards group
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Wi-Mesh Alliance Presents Proposal for IEEE 802.11s Converge! network digest
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See Mesh? SEEMesh Proposed*http://www.techworld.com/mobility/features/index.cfm?FeatureID=695 802.11s tackles mesh networks Peer networking covers areas cheaply Joanie Wexler
Network World July 06, 2004
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Get ready for 802.11s â€" Intel proposes mesh networking standard Peter Rojas
engaget Mar 7, 2005
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IEEE Starts Weaving Mesh Network Standard Alliances make proposals for 802.11s, which will link wireless LANs. Stephen Lawson
IDG News Service July 20, 2005
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Wi-Mesh Moves Toward IEEE Standard Jay Lyman
TechNewsWorld July 21, 2005
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Making wireless mesh a reality: Accton moves ahead in 802.11s Chris Hall
DigiTimes.com August 25, 2005
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Primer: Making A Mesh Of Your WLAN Dave Molta
Information Week Aug. 26, 2005
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Wi-Mesh website
